How to: FIX: The Trust Relationship between this Workstation and the Primary Domain Failed – Windows 10

So, this happens often, usually laptops but sometimes desktop and even servers fall victim to this issue. There are apparently a number of reasons why this happens, but the main reason seems to be lost connection between the ‘client/server’ and the Domain controllers.

If the scheduled password change occurs while the server or client is unavailable or has been shut down, then the passwords stored in the server/client and the domain controllers for the computer account mismatch, and you will end up getting this error when trying to logon to the server.

It can also appear differently, like if all service accounts stop functioning with events logged as a result, or similar that happens when the server is still running, and you have been able to logon or simply never logged off.

We can fix this without removing/re-joining the PC to domain if:

Option 1: You have a local admin account on the machine that you know the password for, or

Option 2: You have logged in to the machine with a domain account with admin credentials in the past.

If Option 1, just log in with the local admin credentials and then proceed to the next part.

If Option 2, disconnect the network cord, disable wireless, etc, and then log in as your local admin domain account.